Entrepreneurs Exposed

Dave Selinger has founded and built some hugely successful companies - among them, Redfin, the well known real estate brokerage firm; and RichRelevance, which revolutionized shopping experiences for a number of retailers. On top of his colourful career as a founder, Dave was also an early at Amazon, working directly under Jeff Bezos. In this EP, we discuss Dave's past experiences at Redfin, Rich R...

Zeke Bronfman is the Co-founder and CEO of XED Beverages, a CPG brand builder and incubator with a growing portfolio of both owned brands and joint ventures. Zeke is a fourth-generation entrepreneur in the beverage alcohol industry, and comes to XED backed by a notable advisory board including Strauss Zelnick (former chairman of CBS), Edgar Bronfman Jr. (former CEO of Seagram), among others. In th...

Shahar Erez is the Co-founder & CEO of Stoke, an on-demand talent platform empowering companies to adopt and scale a hybrid workforce model. In 2021, Stoke was acquired by Fiverr for $110M just 15 months after coming out of stealth mode. In this EP, we dive into the early days of Stoke; trends related to freelance and remote work; the sale to Fiverr; the differences between startup culture in Isra...

Martin Basiri is the co-founder and CEO of Apply Board, a company he and his 2 brothers launched in 2015. Since then, Apply Board has raised nearly $500 Million dollars from some of the most influential VC's in North America. In this EP, Martin and I discuss the idea of "knowing very little" when starting a business; raising hundreds of millions of dollars, and the difference between raising a see...

Dan Park is an entrepreneur and the CEO of Clutch, an online platform for car buying and ownership. Before joining Clutch, Dan was responsible for building and scaling Uber Eats across Canada and was instrumental in driving the country’s exceptional growth. In this EP, we dive into the rapid success of Clutch and its business model; the market for cars, and the rise in demand amidst supply chain d...

Originally aired: May, 2021 Kirk Simpson is the co-founder and CEO of Wave, an accounting software company supporting over 400,000 active small businesses. Wave was acquired in June 2019 by H&R Block for over $537M – the 7th largest tech exit in Canada since 2001. In addition, Kirk was honoured as one of Canada's Most Admired CEOs in 2019. In this EP, we discuss the company's rise to prominence on...

Mark Lachance founded EVO Payments International Canada, a payment solutions provider and merchant acquirer. Prior to EVO, Mark was a founding member of both VersaPay (taken public in 2010), and Pivotal Payments, now a multi-billion-dollar public company. Currently, he is the CEO of Maxy Media, one of the largest TikTok display network performance marketing agencies in the world. In this EP, we di...

Tony Chapman is one of the youngest individuals inducted into the Marketing Hall of Legends, a testament to a storied career in the ad agency world. Tony has spoken around the globe on all topics related to marketing, advertising, and branding. In this EP, we chat about the worlds biggest brands, including many who are listed in the latest global brand rankings; influencer marketing and the rise o...

Jackie Fast is the Managing Partner of Sandbox Studios, an LA-based seed fund exclusively investing in talent-led startups. Busy as VC, she's probably best known for founding Slingshot, and London-based agency servicing some of the world’s most high-profile clients including The Rolling Stones, Shell, Formula 1, Red Bull, Richard Branson, Coca Cola, and more. In this EP, we discuss the origins of...

Original air date: April, 2021 Mark Ang is the co-founder and CEO of Second Closet, now BOLT, Canada’s largest valet-storage company. In this episode, we talk about the origin story of Second Closet; getting punched in the face, both metaphorically and literally; the importance of articulating core values; taking venture money; the shift to fulfillment from consumer storage; and more.  Want to sta...

Jason Smith is the Co-Founder and CEO of Klue, a competitive intelligence platform that just announced its $62 million Series B raise led by Tiger Global, with participation from Salesforce Ventures. In this EP, Jason and I dive into the recent funding announcement; raising money during the pandemic, and how it differs from the previous in-person fund raising circus; the American vs. Canadian entr...

Michael Serbinis is the founder and CEO of League, a technology-focused health company. A serial entrepreneur, Serbinis previously founded and built Kobo (the most notable competitor to Amazon's Kindle), along with DocSpace, and Critical Path. He was also among the first 10 employees at Zip2 alongside Kimble and Elon Musk. In this EP, we dive into Serbinis's early days at Zip2; his numerous start...

David Nour is the author of 11 books, including bestsellers Relationship Economics® (Wiley); Co-Create (St. Martin’s Press), and Curve Benders (Wiley). Nour also serves as a trusted advisor to global clients and corporate leaders. He has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fast Company, and Huffington Post Business. In this EP, we talk about David's origin story; "relatio...

Matt Larochelle, is the co-founder of MATT & STEVE’S. You may be familiar with the 'Extreme Bean'; the # 1 one selling pickled bean across North America. In this EP, we discuss the ups and downs of being in the food space during a global pandemic; the current supply chain disruption, and its impact on both companies and consumers; the paradigm shift away from "just in time" inventory; M&A activity...

Lloyed Lobo, (@lloyedlobo) is the Co-founder and President of Boast. AI, a fintech platform that automates access to billions in R&D tax credits and government funding to help companies fuel their growth. In this EP, we discuss Lloyed's scary brush with COVID19 back in January; the company's recent $23 M Series A round; the business trope of "company culture fit", and more. EP Sponsor: https://www...

Jeff Adamson is the co-founder of SkipTheDishes. "Skip" is now one of the most recognized consumer brands in Canada serving hundreds of thousands daily. Now, Jeff has moved on to his next venture, as a co-founder of banking disruptor, Neo Financial. In this EP, we chat about Jeff's background as a professional wrestler; the origins and evolution of SKIP, and the sale to Just Eat; Neo Financial, Je...

Steve Irvine, is the Founder and CEO of Integrate AI. Prior to founding Integrate, Steve was an executive at Facebook and Instagram. In this EP, we discuss the intersection of software and AI; the importance of trust, compliance, and data privacy; the notion of building a business with soul; raising capital and retaining talent; why being a not-so-techy founder of a tech company can be a big advan...

Jay Myers is the co-founder and CEO of Bold Commerce, one of the fastest-growing tech companies in Canada. Powering over 100,000 brands, Bold has become a leading e-commerce technology provider to many of the largest brands in the world including Harry Rosen, Staples, Pepsi, and more.  Sponsor: learnplaylovetennis.com - promo code E2TENNIS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho...

Allen Lau is the CEO and co-founder of Wattpad, the world's social storytelling platform. Wattpad has over 90 million readers; thousands of Wattpad stories have been adapted for major platforms and gone on to become blockbuster movies, Netflix hits, and bestselling books around the world. The company completed its sale to Naver earlier this year in a deal worth over $600 Million.  Sponsor: learnpl...

Originally aired: Feb 2021 Connie Steele is the co-founder of Flywheel Associates and host of the Strategic Momentum Podcast. Connie is also the author of Building the Business of You: A System to Align Passion and Growth Potential Through Your Own Career Mash-Up. Connie has observed how business is no longer binary, or absolute. We explore the future of work as well as the notion of "fluidity"; t...

Derek Szeto founded RedFlagDeals.com in 2000, Canada's largest bargain shopping community which ultimately sold to Yellow Pages in 2010. From there, Derek has founded multiple companies, some under the RBC ventures umbrella. He is now is at the helm of Go Walnut, a start-up in the insurance space. In this EP, we talk about the origins of Red Flag Deals, and the sale to Yellow Pages; the sectors De...

Originally aired: Dec. 2020 John Warrillow is the founder of The Value Builder System, now used by thousands of businesses worldwide. He's the author of 3 books, including the best-selling Built to Sell recognized by Fortune as one of the best business books of 2011. John is also the host of Built to Sell Radio. In this EP, we discuss if this is the right time to sell a business; the state of the...

Anthony DiIorio funded & co-founded Ethereum, the decentralized smart contract platform that at its peak hit $350 billion in market cap. Currently, he is the founder and CEO of Decentral Inc., a Toronto-based innovation hub & software development company focused on decentralized technologies. In this EP, we discuss the origins of Ethereum; Anthony's problem-solving formula; his take on Elon Musk's...

Mike Gettis founded Endy in 2015 - Canada's fastest-growing vertical e-commerce company and market leader in the online mattress space. After the big sale to Sleep Country Canada in 2018, Mike has gone on to launch Kilne. In this one, we discuss Mike's experience growing and selling Endy; how marketing has shifted during the pandemic; trends related to D2C, and how he's taken advantage of the mome...

Ahmad Munawar is the Founder and CEO of the 90day pipeline and advisor to 7 figure consultants. He has gone from an accountant at Ernst and Young to the forefront of the digital marketing world. In this episode, we discuss "imposter syndrome", and why having it is a good sign; the importance of committing to mastery; why power positioning is the first step in getting marketing right; how to think...